Transportable ordnance material for firing against aircraft



TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT- N. E. METHLIN Filed Jan. 8, 1950 17 Sheets-Sheet 1 660F126 ys 1931- 'N. E. METHLIN 1,835,839

TRANSPQRTABLE ORDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1930 1'? Sheets-Sheet 2 I IHHHH \HHH Mn/Euro CQ/rnJ/bO'yu, ATTOR/VEKS.

Dec. 8, 1931. N. E. METHLIN 1,835,890

TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1950 Shegts-Sheet 3 Dec 8, 1931. N. E. METHLIN 1,835,890

TRANSPORTABLE DRDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCIEKAF'I Filed Jan. 8, 1930 17 Sheets-Sheet 4 Dec. 8, 1931.

N. E. METHLIN TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1930 l Sheets-Sheet 5 Illl-lllIV-V l I I l l I I l I I I ll 8, 1931. N. E. METHLlN TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FII KING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1930 l7 Sheets-Sheet 6 ATTO/P/VfYS.

Dec. 8, 1931. N. E. METHLIN TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1930 l? Sheets-Sheet 7 m/ MENTOR W My 775% A770/P/VEMS.

N. E METHLIN TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1950 1. Sheets-Sheet a J JF l HlJ J ll Dec 8, 1931. N. E. METHLIN TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1950 17 Sheets-Sheet 9 N. E. METHLIN Dec. 8, 1931.

TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1950 17 Sheets-Sheet 1O fiZtoifizeya ec. 8, 1931. METHLlN 1,835,890

TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1950 1,7 Sheets-Sheet 11 lNVE/VTOR Dec. 8, 1931. N. E. METHLIN TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANCE IMIATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1930 17 Sheets-Sheet l2 9 N. E. METHLIN 1,835,390

TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1930 1' Sheets-Sheet -13 aawead' M M Dec. 8, 1931. N. E. METHLlN 1,835,890

TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1 930 l7 Sheets-Sheet 14,

l/VVENTOR cam what/Pm 8, 1931. N. E. METHLIN TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1950 l7 Sheets-Sheet 15 IN VEN TOR A 7'7'ORNEYS.

Dec. 8, 1931.

N. E. METHLIN TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANCE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1930 17 Sheets-Sheet 16 Dec. 8, 1931. N. E. METHLIN TRANSPORTABLE ORDNANGE MATERIAL FOR FIRING AGAINST AIRCRAFT Filed Jan. 8, 1930 17 Sheets-Sheet 17 m/vs/vrol? A7 TORNEVAS Patented Dec. 3, 193i e se rm NICOLAS EMILIEN means, or ramsraaivon, Assmnon TO SCHNEIDER & 01s,, or

PARIS, nuance, A. LIMITED JOINT-STOCK COMPANY or FR N v TRANSPORTABLE onnnan'on MATERIAL FOR BRING-AGAINST AIRCRAFT V Application filed January 8, 1930, Serial No. 419,414, and in France January 22, 1929.

The object, of the present inventionis a practical form of construction of the: antiaircraft artillery gun forming the subject of U. S. Patent N 0. 1,672,949 and more particularly of U. S. Patent No. 1,658,005.

The new form of construction is characterized by its arrangement with a view'to dividing the gun conveniently intosections for mounting and transporting upon separate vel0 hicles, the latter being naturally themselves constructed in a special manner to receive the corresponding loads and to facilitate placing these loads in position.

The invention is illustrated in detail in the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal diagrammatic elevation of the gun to be divided into sections for loading it and transporting it upon four separate vehicles. The parts of the gun corresponding to the four vehicles are designated in this diagrammatic elevation by the references I, II, III, IV; The part I is formed by the gun tube or barrel proper; the part II is formed by the whole of the cradle, the

sledge and the elevating sector; the part III is composed of the support whichforms a top carriage and the connecting cable to the cradle ;;the part IV is formed by the anchoring platfornnthat is to say a foot step bearing for the support or top carriage III and an arrangement of three arms for anchorage to ground.

Figures 2 to 8 inclusive show the vehicle for transporting the part I, that is to say the gun tube or barrel proper,-and the operations for loading this part upon the said vehicle. Figure 2 shows the vehicleafter it has been brought into the desired position for loading the barrel, the whole of the oscillating mass having been itself previously brought into the desired position for loading up this sepurateelementi I Figures 3 and 3a comprise a; plan corresponding to Figure 2.

'Figure 4 is a'section half of which is taken the halt-collars A A along thenne' a the'other a f along the line 4:4 in Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a part section taken along line 55 in Figure 2. I Figures 6 and 7 show two diiierent positions of a trunnion carrying collar fitted to the tube for mounting the latter in place upon tne corresponding transport Vehicle. 7 Figure 8 shows the whole ofthe'firstvehicle and the part I in the travelling position.

The gun to be transported 'conformsin its general lines to that described in U. SsPatent No. 1,658,005. Itcomprises as shown iniFig ure l, a tube A mounted upon a sledge A the arran ement A-A? being adapted to recoil upon a cradle B which is 'journalled at its back end by means of trunnions b in bearings 0 carried by a carriage C. Thejoscillating mass AA Bis entirelysupported. on account of the fact that the cradle Bis coupled at a point 6 of the centre of gravity, of the said mass to a spring balancingdevice disposed in the support C, this coupling being designed in'such a way that for any angle 7 of inclination of the mass a balance will be obtained in practice. The bearings c are formed upon a small carriage C which turns in a's'addle C itself movable by means of a knee-joint in a pedestal D which can be anchored to the ground by three arms Dt, D

D one of which D may be'rigidly integral with the pedestal, the other two D and D being connected tothe said pedestal. l I

Normally, the part I, that is to sayv the gun barrel proper, is held upon the'sledge A? by These removable collars remain attached by one oftheir ends lodged in side plates A formed near the rear 1- loo vto cradle B for transport. In order to load end of the gun tube in the neighbourhood of the breech.

The vehicle for transporting the gun tube, which is shown in Figures 2, 3 and 8, comprises two pairs of supporting acks in longitudinal members E, one of the pairs of acks F being provided for manipulating and supporting the front part of the barrel through the medium of the removable trunnion carrying collar G, while the other pair of jacks H is provided for manipulating and supporting the back part of the *barrel through the medium of the removable cross member I placed in position intheside'plates A In order .to load uplthe .gun for transporting, in other words, in order to divide it into sectionswith a view to mounting the various parts I, II, III, IV upon the corresponding vehicles, the oscillating mass is given an1n-' clination of about 10, as shown in Figure 1. The collars A A are disengaged and lowered upon the cradle and the removable trunnion carrying collar is moved into place in a groove A provided upon the gun tube for- W-ard of the cradle. The trunnion carrying collar is as shown in Figures 6 and 7, constructed in-two parts, which are engaged together by means of a pin bar G Figure 6 shows the collar open before placing it in position. Figure '7 shows'the collar closed and engaged upon the tube A. The trunn'io'ns g are provided at the desired distance apart in order to rest upon the heads F of the jacks F when the latter have been raised to the desired height by means-of operating gear which is common to the jacks F and jacks H. Similarly the cross member I carries two'pins or trunnions i which rest upon the heads H of the jacks H. The heads F and H are guided respectively in slots E and E provided in the longitudinal mem bers E. 1 e

V In the example shown provision has been made of a transmission gear operated by a crank handle L and driving the nuts F and H respectively through a suitable drive, such as that shown, the effect of which is to raise the screws F, H and the heads F H sliding in the guides E and E respectively. WVhen the heads F H of the jacks have come into contact with the trunnions g and i respectively, these heads are closed by the caps f and k By then operating the elevating'mechanism the cradle B can be lowered, while the barrel with the vehicle which carries it are maintained in the position shown in Figure 2. When the cradle has been brought approximately into a horizontal position,a pull exerted upon the vehicle E will cause it to move away with the load it carries.

For travelling purposes it will then be possible by operating the acks F, .H again to lower the barrel into the position shown in Figure 8 and to disengage the shaft J which until this moment for the operation which has just been performed, was engaged by tenons j in sockets 6 formed upon one of thecross members E of the chassis. The shaft will then be brought into the position shown in Figure 8 by engaging the tenons j in sockets 6 carried by the other end cross member E of the chassis.

Figures 9 to 14 inclusive show the operations for loading the part II of the gun upon a second vehicle, in other words, for loading upon the cradle with the sledge and the elevat'ing sector. Figure 9 is a longitudinal elevation. Figure 10 is a corresponding plan view showing the vehicle after it has been moved into position for loading up. Figure 11 is a cross sectional elevation taken along the line 1l11 in Figure 1. Figures 12, 13 and l l show in longitudinal elevation in plan and in cross section along the line 14-44 in Figure 12 respectively, the vehicle with its load in the travelling position.

For the purpose of loading it upon the corresponding vehicle, the cradle 13 is pro.- vided with two wedges or keys B B at a suitable distance from its front and rear ends, which keys for transport purposes become positioned respectively in front of and behind two cross members K K of the vehicle, the chassis of which comprises two longitudinal frame members K.

These cross members K K are constructed to form bearings which engage the shape of the cradle 13. To each of thesecross members is pivoted a cap [a and respectively; when these caps are lowered upon the bearing forming bodies K and K they will hold the whole of the cradle B and the sledge A secured upon the vehicle and will prevent any lifting of the latter, any longitudinal displacements being prevented by the keys or wedges B B In order to load up this second portio BA the vehicle KK K is brought into the po ition shown in Figures 9 to 11, the cross members K and K moving into the desired position to receive the cradle B. It is then possible, by operating the elevation mechanism to lower the cradle until it comes into contact with the supportingbearings formed by the cross members K and K the keys or stops B and B thus occupying the position shown in Figures 12, 13, and .14. The caps 70 and 7c are then lowered over the cradle and secured. In order to be able to remove the portion 11, it will only be neces- 5a.

or by means of any suitable device which permits the pinion C or a part of the teeth of the sector B to be temporarily withdrawn. Further it is necessary to secure the spring balancing device in the interior of the shaft C Which may be effected easily by engaging the ratchet C by means of the pawl C (Figures 9 and from-the cradle B is hooked on to the shaft C, asshown in Figure which relates to the operation of loading up the portion III of the gun. Y. 1

The chassis of the vehicle may, as shown more particularly in Figures 10 and 11, be provided with brackets K for supporting the piston K upon which various accessories, for example a tool box K and a fuse setter K (Figures 13 and 1 1) may be placed for trans port. 7

Figures 15to inclusive illustrate the operation of loading up the portion III upon the corresponding vehicle. Figure 15 is an elevation. Fi ure 16 is a correspondingplan showing this part III and the vehicle in the first stage of the loading operation. Figure 17 is a part sectional elevation taken along the line 17.17 in Figure 16. Figure 18 is an elevation showing a second stage of the operation. Figure 19 shows in plan view a third stage of this operation. Figure 20 is an elevation of the vehicle with the part it carries, in the travelling position.

As shownin Figures 15 to 17, the part III, that is to say the support C and the elevating mechanism with the exception of the sector B carriedbythe cradle, together with the top carriage C and the saddle C is at the commencement of the operation supp-ortedby the bottom carriage formed by the pod estal D and the arms D D and D The arms D D and D are lifted by their free ends by means of three jacks M, as shown iiiFigure 15 which illustrates the whole of the bottom carriage and the part III raised, in full lines, the bottom carriage being shown in dot-and-dash lines in this starting position.

.The vehicle N comprises a device for manipulating the part III. This device is formed, as shown in Figures 15 and 16, by an .arm 0 pivoting about a shaft 0 journalled in thechassis of the vehicle. This armis adapted to be made rigid by means of aremovable pin 0 with two toothed sectors 0 loose '-mounted like the arm O upon the shaft 0 The arm 0 is constructed in the gun. By means of suitable transmission devices such as those shown in Figures 15 and 16,.which are operated by means of the crank handles h it is possible when the vehicle has been moved into the position it occupied in the said figure, to lower the whole of the arm 0 and. the sectors'O whichare made rigid with'each other by the removable pin 0 into the'desired position for the trunnions 0 to engage in the bearings c of the top carriage C The chassis of the vehicle follows this The cable C disengaged movement and pivots about the axle n. The caps or c'over-strapsc arethen lowered and secured upon the top carriage. VVllGILthlS has been done the'part III is disengaged from operating the jacks M to return the bottom carriage into contact with the ground in the position it occupies in Figure 18.

The forked lever P mounted upon the shaft will be made to occupy with respect to the saddle C the place of the attachment member (Z? (Figure 17). The assembly 'between the forked lever P and the saddle C will naturally have to be completed by a pin 9. The members at this moment occupy the position shown in Figure 18, the forward part of the vehicle N bearing upon the ground through the medium of rollers a carried'by struts N pivotally connected to the chassis N. The struts N may moreover be connected to the chassis by rods or struts n By operating the transmission by means of crank handles N the part III is lowered on to its transport vehicle and it is-thus brought into the position shown in Figure 19, the upper part of thesupport C resting upon a bearing N? the cap of which n is lowered in order upon the vehicle N by the cap a on the one hand, and by the pivotal connection to the arm 0 and to the link P on the other hand (Figure 19). The sectors 0 which, for the operation of loading the part III on to the chassis N, have been lowered, will have to be raised into a travellingposition. For this purpose it will be fsutficient after having removed the pin' O to operate the crank handles N by travelling the sectors 0 over the pinion 0 the members will thus be moved into the position shown in Figure 20.

There only remains the bottom carriage formed by the pedestal D and the arms, D D Di'tobe' loaded up on tothe correspondingvehicle. This operation is shown in Figures 21-to 26 inclusive. -Figure 21'shows the bottom carriage which remains upon the ground after the part III has been removed. 7 The vehicle for v transporting the part IV is formed by 'a simple train of wheels Q -Q'Q}. The axle of this train of wheels comprises as shown in Figure 26, two projections 9 upon which will be engaged corresponding mortices D formed in the arm D near the point of attachment upon pedestal D. In the end part "of the arm I) is engaged a lifting bar R permitting the arm Dto be raised in the known manner and as indicated in U. S. Patent No. 1,658,005, by making the whole of the bottom carriage'bear 

